GTA IV and Mario Kart Wii came out last week. Knowing that fact, do you expect a great release week? If you said no, then you're correct...unless you're a Wii owner, then you have a FANTASTIC week. In addition, it appears that many games are on this week's release date that were delayed from weeks past. If you tried to buy a game I listed in the past but had no lucking finding it, you might want to check out the release list for this week and see if your game is on it.
| Playstation 3 | Xbox 360 | Nintendo Wii | | •Call of Duty 4: Game of the Year Edition (We'll see if it actually comes out this time...) | ... |
•Blast Works: Build, Fuse, Destroy (I'm getting conflicting release dates on this one, but I'll include it anyways. I'll talk more about the game next week, because it's really important for the Wii.)
•Boom Blox
•The DOG Island
•Speed Racer | | PSP | Nintendo DS | Playstation 2 | •Chameleon
•R-Type Command
•SNK Arcade Classics V.1 | •Brain Voyage
•Crosswords DS (This one is actually published by Nintendo!)
•Speed Racer | ... |
 My game of the week goes to Boom Blox on the Nintendo Wii. Developed by EA and Steven Spielberg, Boom Blox offers a unique twist on the puzzle genre, along with some of the most creative use of the Wii remote ever seen in a game. The basis of Boom Blox is extremely simple, knock a structure of blocks down. You can knock down these stacks of blocks in many different ways, including throwing balls, blowing wind, and shoooting them. In addition, there are some blocks with special properties, such as exploding when hit with something. Perhaps the most exciting feature of the game is in the built-in level editor, which will allow you to build your own block structures for both single and multiplayer modes. Once you build a level, you can send it to friends over the internet and have them play it. However the game features no online multiplayer, only split screen. If this sounds lame, then I urge you to . It explains the concept far better than I ever could. While I do highly recommend checking out this game, I don't know if it's worth the $50 asking price. But if no one buys the game right away, then it could cause EA and other developers to think that no one wants this type of game that makes very creative use of the Wii, causing more shitty shovelware. I'm going to wait until EA lowers the price to around $30 or so, which shouldn't be too long knowing how EA operates, and buy it NEW (not used because they won't know about that sale, and it would be the same as not buying it in the first place).
There are only two games that matter this week.
| Playstation 3 | Xbox 360 | Nintendo Wii | •Grand Theft Auto IV
•Iron Man | •Grand Theft Auto IV
•Iron Man | •Iron Man
•Mario Kart Wii | | PSP | Nintendo DS | Playstation 2 | •Chameleon
•Iron Man
•SNK Arcade Classics V.1 | •Brain Voyage
•Corvette Evolution GT
•Iron Man
•Let's Pilates
•Let's Yoga
•River King: Mystic Valley
•Toy Shop
•Winx Club: Mission Enchantix | •Iron Man
•SNK Arcade Classics V.1 |
 Other than the two obvious picks of the week (which you should know about, so I won't explain them in any detail), SNK Arcade Classics V.1 looks pretty damn awesome as well. The game is a compilation of 16 Neo Geo classics which include Art of Fighting, Baseball Stars 2, Burning Fight, Fatal Fury, King of Fighters 94, King of the Monsters, Last Resort, Magician Lord, Metal Slug, Neo Turf Masters, Samurai Shodown, Sengoku, Shock Troopers, Super Sidekicks 3, Top Hunter, and World Heroes. The price is definitely great on it too, only $20 for your choice of the PS2 or the PSP version. I'd pick that up if you don't want the big releases this week or want to buy something a little more "retro".
This week is just preparation for next week which has two megaton releases. However, there is still some pretty neat stuff coming out this week. Take a look:
| Playstation 3 | Xbox 360 | Nintendo Wii | •Call of Duty 4: Game of the Year Edition
•NBA Ballers: Chosen One | •NBA Ballers: Chosen One | •Battle of the Bands
•Heavenly Guardian
•Target Terror
•Wild Earth: African Safari | | PSP | Nintendo DS | Playstation 2 | | •Chameleon | Dream Pinball 3D
•Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness
•Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time
•River King: Mystic Valley
•The World Ends With You | •Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES |
Looks like a good week if you're an RPG fan. You have a rerelease of one of the most critically acclaimed (and hard to find) games of last year, two new Pokemon games, and a game from RPG powerhouse Square Enix.
 What is my pick of the week? I'll say Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES. I'm not an RPG fan, but this looks like a great rerelease of Persona 3. It will include an additional chapter and additional storyline/gameplay elements for a total of 30 additional hours of gameplay. If you're at all interested in this game, I recommend you get it right away since it is an Atlus game and will probably be impossible to find in 3 months.
Next week will be a huge one because we have both Mario Kart Wii and Grand Theft Auto 4 coming out. So, start saving because next week is going to be a good one! Until then, happy gaming!
Taxes are due Tuesday...did you get them done? If so, it's time to start thinking about how to spend that refund. Maybe this week's release list will help you.
| Playstation 3 | Xbox 360 | Nintendo Wii | | •Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (Also available as a download from the Playstation Store) | ... | •Okami
•Summer Sports: Paradise Island | | PSP | Nintendo DS | Playstation 2 | | ... | •Cory in the House
•High School Musical 2: Work It Out
•MLB 2K8 Fantasy All-Stars
•Rondo of Swords | ... |
Yeah, it's a light week number wise but game wise, it's an extremely heavy hitter.
 My pick of the week depends on what category you fall in to. If you have a Wii, but don't own Okami on the Playstation 2, then I demand that you buy Okami for the Wii this week. Okami was a PS2 adventure game in the style of Zelda, but got severely underlooked by most people because of the release of Twilight Princess. Now that the hype of Twilight Princess has settled down, it's time for you to revisit the game that was far superior to the vastly overrated Wii launch game. There, I said it. Okami is better than Twilight Princess. I'm not the only one to feel this way either. Zelda fanboy flaming aside, Okami on the Wii looks to be a fantastic port of the PS2 classic. The port will feature the same great game you never played on the PS2, however the team at Ready At Dawn (the same team behind the excellent Daxter and God of War: Chains of Olympus for the PSP) have taken the liberty to do some enhancements to the Wii edition including 16:9 widescreen visuals running at 480p and some wagglan controls (sadly). However, you can paint with the Wii Remote, which is awesome and hopefully inspires Nintendo to make Mario Paint for the Wii.
 However, if you're like me, a snobby bastard that's a part of the hip alternative gaming scene, you'll have Okami already and most likely won't be interested in a Wii port of the same game. What do you do then? You buy Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, that's what. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue is a demo of Gran Turismo 5 fully featured racing game that will give you an early glimpse at what to expect from Gran Turismo 5 when it ships next year (or in 2010, knowing Polyphony Digital). This title follows in the footsteps of previous pre-release GT titles Gran Turismo Concept and Gran Turismo 4 Prologue, but what makes this one different is that it is the first one to receive a worldwide release. The game features 76 cars, 6 tracks, 12 track layouts, 16 player online racing, Full HD 1080p graphics, and uncompressed LPCM 7.1 surround sound. New to the Gran Turismo series with 5 is GT-TV, a video on demand service that will be regularly updated with both free and pay content related to the world of racing and automobiles. However, the game does not include in-game voice chat (dumb move, Sony) nor private racing with your PSN friends, but Taku Imasaki, the producer of the North American release of the game, confirmed that they are working on adding that in a future update. Sepaking of updates, the lead director of the Gran Turismo series at Polyphony Digital, Kazunori Yamauchi, has said that vehicle damage will be coming to Gran Turismo 5 Prologue as an update, and that GT5P will eventually reach the full functionality of Gran Turismo 5, but with fewer tracks and cars. So, maybe buyers of Prologue will get a discount on the full game when it comes out, but probably not knowing Sony. Anyways, demo or not, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue looks quite awesome, but it definitely isn't for everyone. Remember, this game will be released as both a retail Blu-ray and as a download from the all-new Playstation Store. Both versions cost $40 and offer the same content, but the PS Store version will be a 2 GB or so download and will make you download the GT TV videos from the internet to view them. The Blu-ray edition will include all of the GT TV videos available at launch on the disc for instant viewing.
And we're back from an extended break. In order to celebrate our triumphant return to the internets, here's a list of games that are out this week!
Wait a minute...
| Playstation 3 | Xbox 360 | Nintendo Wii | | ... | ... | •Baroque
•Mini Copter Adventure Flight | | PSP | Nintendo DS | Playstation 2 | | •World Championship Cards | •Fab 5 Soccer (Sorry, this isn't a game with The Beatles, it's a shitty budget title)
•Plushees | •Arcana Heart
•Baroque |
Looks like the release list is taking a break this week too...
HOWEVER! There are two big releases this week that fall outside my realm of coverage. The first is Sony's long-awaited US release of the new DualShock 3 controller. The new controller adds rumble back into the controller and makes your PS3 controller not feel like a cheap piece of plastic. I got mine last night and I must say it's a definite improvement over both the Sixaxis and the DualShock 2. I highly recommend any PS3 owner to get one as soon as you can. Also, here's a list of games that have vibration support at the moment. More will be coming in the future with game patches. In addition, the DS3 supports vibration on all PS2 and PS1 games.
 That is not my pick of the week, though. My pick of the week easily goes to Ikaruga on Xbox Live Arcade. That's right, Treasure's classic (and very hard to find) vertical shooter has been ported to Xbox Live Arcade and will be selling for the ultra-low price of $10. If you have an Xbox 360 and don't buy this game, I will be extremely disappointed in you because Ikaruga is one of the greatest games ever created and is something that everyone needs to experience it at least once. Sure, you could be old-fashioned and buy the Dreamcast or Gamecube version, but you'll be paying at least $30 or $40 more for a disc and a case. Not worth it just for that. Come on, you know you want it. Drop your fear of digital distribution and experience one of the greatest games of all time. 
Uh...
| Playstation 3 | Xbox 360 | Nintendo Wii | | ... | •Call of Duty 4: Game of the Year Edition (Includes the original game plus a ticket to download the new map pack coming out this week) | •Octomania | | PSP | Nintendo DS | Playstation 2 | | ... | •Rafa Nadal Tennis
•Toy Shop | •Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis
•RC Mini Chopper |
yeah...
There is nothing good this week. COD4: Game of the Year is the best thing coming out this week, but you should already own that game.
So, this week is a good one to catch up on some of those old games you might have missed.
Check back next week when maybe I can actually give some games for you to buy.
This week is actually a damn good one for new game releases. Every system will get at least one good game, which is pretty rare this time of year.
| Playstation 3 | Xbox 360 | Nintendo Wii | •Dark Sector
•Viking: Battle for Asgard | •Dark Sector
•Universe at War: Earth Assault
•Viking: Battle for Asgard | •Emergency Mayhem
•King of Clubs
•MiniCopter: Adventure Flight
•Obscure: The Aftermath
•Octomania
•Opoona
•Summer Sports: Paradise Island | | PSP | Nintendo DS | Playstation 2 | •Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
•Warriors Orochi | •Backyard Baseball 2009
•Harvest Moon DS Cute
•Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword | •Naruto Ultimate Ninja 3
•Obscure: The Aftermath
•Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure |
 My pick this week goes to Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. Now, before all you Final Fantasy fangirls start crying becuase I didn't pick your OMFGKAWAIIBISHIE ^__^ game, let me just say that I would never award FF7 or FF anything, other than "Series Tony Most Hates". Now to the pick at hand, Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword for the Nintendo DS. This game, while lacking the graphical prowess of Sigma, Black, and II, it definitely looks like a well thought out and well executed version of the game that you can put in your pocket and play anywhere. The game really seems to live up to the high bar set by the console iterations of the series. The critics so far seem to agree with my analysis, as it has been getting very positive scores across the board.
In addition to Dragon Sword, be on the look out for Dark Sector and Viking: Battle for Asgard. Dark Sector may end up being meh, but Viking looks like it could be a real surprise. The first review I've seen of that game gave it a 9.5/10. Be sure to check out the other reviews of it as the week progresses, because this might wind up being a game to buy. The fact that it's based on the Vikings only makes me more intrigued, because Vikings are freaking badass.
Also, I have a correction from last week's list. World Championship Cards for PSP has been delayed until April. Sorry for disappointing all less than two of you who are looking forward to this game.
Check back here next week to find out what games are begging for your money!
This week is actually a damn good one for new games considering we're right in the middle of March. If you have a PS3, 360, DS, or PS2, there's a great game coming out. The other consoles, not so much unless Sega Superstars Tennis completely beats my expectations (which it won't). So without further ado, here's what you can buy this week:
| Playstation 3 | Xbox 360 | Nintendo Wii | •Condemned 2: Bloodshot
•Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds
•Karaoke Revolution: American Idol Encore
•Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (Also available in a Limited Edition)
•Sega Superstars Tennis | •Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (Also available in a Limited Edition)
•Sega Superstars Tennis | •George of the Jungle
•Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
•Sega Superstars Tennis
•Worms: A Space Oddity
•WWII Aces | | PSP | Nintendo DS | Playstation 2 | •World Championship Cards
(No highlight game here this week. I'm not going to tell you to waste your money on World Championship Cards. Go buy God of War, Wipeout Pulse, or Patapon instead.) | •Diary Girl
•Fantasy Aquarium
•Go Pets: Vacation Island
•Lost in Blue 3
•Sega Superstar Tennis | •Metal Gear Solid: Essential Collection
•Samurai Warriors 2: Xtreme Legends
•Sega Superstar Tennis
•Singstar 90s (Also available as a bundle with 2 microphones) |
 My overall pick of the week goes to Metal Gear Solid: Essential Collection. This package is a collection of the first three Metal Gear Solid games in a specially priced $30 bundle in preparation for the release of the highly anticipated (50GB, dual layer Blu-ray) PS3 exclusive Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots which comes out in June. The Essential Collection is a fantastic deal if you are new to the MGS series, have only one or two games in the series, or are a completist. It's really hard to say no to $30 for three of the greatest games ever.
Check back here next week to find out what games are begging for your money!
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